Africa’s mobile sector adds R4.3tn to economy as digital divide evolves
Mobile technologies and services contributed $240bn (about R4.3tn) to Africa’s economy in 2025, accounting for 7.8% of GDP, according to the GSMA’s Mobile Economy Africa 2026 report.
The mobile ecosystem also supported around 13 million jobs and generated $45bn (about R808bn) in public revenues, highlighting the growing economic role of mobile connectivity across the continent.
The report suggests Africa’s mobile industry is entering a new phase of development, shifting focus from expanding network access towards unlocking greater value through digital services, artificial intelligence (AI) and enterprise transformation.
From connectivity to digital adoption
According to the report, operators are increasingly positioning themselves as digital transformation partners rather than traditional connectivity providers.
This includes deploying AI technologies, expanding digital services and opening network capabilities to developers through standardised application programming interfaces (APIs).
Research cited by GSMA found that 79% of mobile operators in Africa identify becoming a digital transformation partner as a key enterprise objective.
By 2030, mobile technologies and services are projected to contribute $290bn (about R5.2tn) to Africa’s economy.
Vivek Badrinath, director general of the GSMA, said the next phase of growth will depend on ensuring more people and businesses derive value from digital infrastructure already in place.
Affordability remains the biggest obstacle
Despite widespread network availability, the report argues that Africa’s largest digital barrier is no longer coverage.
Mobile broadband networks now reach most of the population, yet approximately 63% of Africans live within coverage areas but do not use mobile internet. By comparison, only 9% remain outside broadband coverage.
The report identifies affordability as the biggest barrier to adoption, alongside digital skills gaps and broader social constraints.
GSMA said improving device affordability and expanding digital capabilities will be critical to closing the usage gap.
AI and infrastructure investment gather pace
The report highlights growing use of AI across African mobile networks to improve performance, customer experience and digital service delivery.
However, language remains a challenge, with Africa accounting for more than 30% of the world’s languages while leading AI models remain concentrated around high-resource languages such as English.
Industry initiatives are increasingly focused on building African AI capabilities and improving local language representation.
Meanwhile, mobile operators are expected to invest more than $76bn (about R1.4tn) in network infrastructure between 2024 and 2030.
The report also forecasts that 5G will account for 21% of total mobile connections across Africa by 2030.
Policy and affordability will shape the next phase
GSMA said investment incentives, spectrum availability, regulatory certainty and affordability measures will determine how quickly Africa captures the next wave of digital growth.
The report noted that evidence from several African markets shows lower taxes on devices and digital services can help accelerate adoption and improve access to digital opportunities.